The Bonding of Will and Desire

Stroud, publications director of the Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities, here draws on the archetypal psychology of Jung and James Hillman and the ideas of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard about ``intentional imagination'' to generate a new psychology that challenges society's limited definitions of will and desire. According to the author, modern psychology (which relies heavily on scientific data and stresses individual self-enhancement at the expense of community) has replaced ancient myths and stories that once effectively guided the human will and expanded the imagination. As a result, Stroud argues, we have become materialistic and self-centered, and we need to reconnect will to our deepest and most meaningful desires. Filled with tales from Greek mythology (especially those involving Eros and Aphrodite, god and goddess of love), as well as with more recent folklore, Stroud's first book uges readers to integrate will with loftier desires of bettering human nature and the world, rather than using it only to achieve worldly success. While this is not a book for the general reader, it should appeal to psychologists and students of philosophy, mythology and Jungian psychology. (June)